For SCIENCE!
by Kyoki Shinkuro
Summary: Jayce rushes out to hinder Viktor's experiments, but blows up all zaunite laboratories at the Institute of War during the process. The League allows them to move in with the only other faction that has comparable facilities at the Institute: Piltover. What will happen if these two worlds collide? Find out here ;) M-Rated for what is to come (and evil/crazy science).
1. Chapter One: The Beginning

**FOR SCIENCE!**

**Chapter One: The Beginning**

Dusk had fallen on the Institue of War. Only the sound of the nocturnal birds, bats and some summoners and champions filled the hallways and the gardens. Everything was quiet and peaceful – apart from the zaunite building. Static electricity filled the air around the workshop of Viktor, the Machine Herald. His laboratory was right under the roof. In the past he had operated in the basement, but after a series of explosions that caused the nearby east-building to collapse, he had been moved under the roof. This way he would hopefully not pulverize the foundation of the building again.

Inside one could see a tall figure in a laboratory-coat working on a really complex machinery. If this experiment would succeed he would come closer to his _glorious evolution_! Laughing like a maniac Viktor pulled a giant lever. There was no need for a futuristic machinery like this to have such an unnecessary input device, but one could not feel like a REAL scientist if he could not pull a needlessly big lever to power up one's experiment. Sparks erupted from the crank as the energy started to flow inside the machine. But nothing happened. Slightly disappointed by this rather anticlimactic turn of events Viktor turned his attention towards another machine. He simply needed more energy! If he could not produce enough inside his laboratory, he had to get it from somewhere else. The roof opened and a giant metal rod moved towards the night-sky. Dark clouds started to gather on the sky, forming a perfect ring of blackness. A slight rumble was to be heard, then a lightning struck in the rod. And another. And another.

Soon he would have all the power he needed. He checked the numerous displays on his machinery, waiting for the right moment to direct the stored energy into his latest creations. In about ten seconds... nine... eight... seven...

_WHRAM!_

A giant ball of white energy collided with the lightening-collector. Viktor knew too well who had come to disturb his research. "POWER SLAM!"

In response Viktor threw out an apparition that created a field of high-gravity between him and Jayce. His former co-worker was not really happy to see him.

"WHY CAN'T YOU LET ME WORK IN PEACE FOR ONCE?", growled Viktor, who grabbed his nearby scepter.

The defender of tomorrow was not impressed by the scientist's outburst. Instead he readied his mercury hammer for another shot. "I cannot allow you to complete your research", spoke Jayce, with a heroic tone in his voice, "Feel free to give up now!"

"Ha, inferior construct", sneered Viktor as he charged his death-ray, "Can't you see that I'm about to make the world a better place? Why do you fight the glorious evolution?"

Jayce ignored him and started his attack. "For Piltover!"

"For science!", came the grim answer as shock blasts and lasers shook the building.

In a nearby laboratory Singed was about to discover a new delicate substance. "Mix,mix, swirl, mix..." he mumbled as the liquid in the bottles changed color multiple times. If this experiment would succeed he would be proven again as the best chemist in whole Valoran. He was about to break with the basic rules of nature! Now he had to be careful. One wrong shock...

Slowly. Really careful he moved the liquid towards another bottle. He had to mix it with caution. Not the slightest impulse must disturb the process!

He was about to proceed when two fighting scientists came crushing through the wall and landed right in his storage of highly explosive chemicals. "Oh god why me?", mumbled the chemist a second before a disastrous chain-reaction vaporized the building.

Nothing was left from the building but a smoldering black crater. Apparently there had been no causalities, since almost no one lived close to the laboratory. Viktor could spot several green blobs crawling over the place. Fascinating. Not even an explosion like this could kill the living weapon.

Also he could see a rather torn up werewolf crawling out of the crater. Apparently Warwick had slept over in Singed's lab. But he could not spot the chemist.

He heard a rumble behind him. Singed erupted from the debris, clearly overdosed on his Insanity-Potion. "You...", he growled, his voice missing every bit of humanity. Facing his superior was nothing Viktor liked... especially not in this state. "Wait, I can explain this... He disturbed my experiment and..."

Singed did not listen to him and punched him right in the face, sending the machine herald flying several meters. His metal mask showed a giant dent of Singed's fist now. Then the chemist found Jayce lying unconscious in the crater. "Stupid brats!", he mumbled as he threw the young man over his shoulder with ease.

"Everyone still alive follow me!", ordered the chemist, "We need a new lab!"

* * *

The summoner at the Champion Quarter Relocation Office was already drowning in paperwork when a lot of champions barged in. He had been informed about this incident already. The league had agreed to provide laboratories and workplaces to the champions who wished so, but this was the fourth incident this month. Reconstructing the building would take a lot more effort this time: there was nothing left, it was like the building had been eradicated to an atomic level.

But this case was different from the ones before: this time they had someone to blame that was not from their building fraction.

"We have already judged the situation", explained the summoner, "Since the Defender of Tomorrow is responsible for this incident, the institute decided to hold Piltover responsible for not keeping him under control. They are obliged to let you work and live in their laboratories. We already negotiated with them and there is just one condition for you all..."

"What condition?", asked the chemist. What would these second-rate scientists ask of them? Did they want their research data?

"Heimerdinger wants you to help with his workshop as long as you live there. Oh and you have to follow the general security guidelines..."

"Security guidelines? No one has time for nonsense like...!", protested Viktor, but Singed silenced him again with another punch, knocking the Machine Herald out for good. Then he ordered Warwick to carry him and the still unconscious Jayce. He already had a plan how he would deal with these stupid brats.

"We accept. For science!", he said on behalf of the group. And so Singed, Warwick, Zac and two unconscious morons moved towards their new facilities.

* * *

**/ Hi there, it's Kyoki Shinkuro again. Here is my new Project called "For Science!" - as always I hope you like it. This takes place a short time after my "A Reaper Reborn" Fanfiction - you don't have to read it, since it's no direct sequel with a whole new cast of characters, but some little things might make more sense to you if you have read it. Well, whatever, have fun reading and leave a review if you want ;)**


	2. Chapter Two: A New Workplace

**Chapter 2: A new workplace**

_System reboot successful_

_Time: 13:37_

_Initiating basic scan. _

_Current Location: Joint Laboratories of Piltover and Bandle City. _

_Location considered highly hostile._

_Activate defensive mechanisms? Y/N_

Viktor was about to send his mechanic body on an autonomous rampage when he remembered that latest events. Slightly disappointed he chose "no". Then he asked the cybernetic part of his mind for a damage report.

_No threatening damages found. Mask slightly damaged. Efficiency not reduced. Recommend replacement to avoid looking bad in public. Performing deeper analysis. Result: Damage on mask reduces awesomeness by 45%._

Forty-five percent? That was indeed a troubling number. Still with his eyes closed he manually removed the mask. Then he opened his eyes. Although it was afternoon the room was dark. Someone had covered all the windows, only a few rays of sunlight found their way inside.

In the twilight he could see that the room was very big. Even bigger than his own laboratory. He could spot some boxes that did not seem to fit in this room. When he stood up to inspect them he found a letter: _"I asked Zaun for spare equipment. They found some of your old tools, so we brought them over. If you two morons blow this lab up too, I will strip you personally of your rights as a champion. - Singed" _

Well, looked like he could not roast Jayce in a Chaos Storm the next time – at least not when they were inside. He looked around to find the bathroom. Apparently this was the main-workplace of whoever lived here. This big room had everything, even a small kitchen. The big bed he was lying on before marked the sleeping area of the laboratory. From there he could hear a slight snore, but Viktor ignored it.

On a second thought he turned towards the sound, but only found a mountain of blankets. Whoever slept here was buried beneath them. Probably just some lab-assistant that had stayed over night. Sleeping at ones laboratory was no unusual practice – especially if you have important research going on. Wasting more than thirty minutes per day for traveling to your lab was inexcusable.

In the twilight he found a door with the word "Bath" on it. He entered, turned on the lights and looked in the mirror. At first he did not recognize himself in the reflection. It must have been years since he had seen his own face.

The upper half of his face was barely modified, but the lower part was made of metal. Every part apart from his mouth and nose had been replaced by implants and augmentations. But even on his nose one could see traces of implants.

His skin was really pale, almost white. It had not seen the light of the sun for months or even years. Easily one could trace every vein under his skin. His black hair let him look even more pale.

Putting his clothes on the floor and making sure every part of his tech was still waterproof he filled the bathtub with water. Strangely there were a lot of bottles surrounding the bathtub. Viktor could only identify four of them: Soap, Shampoo, Lotion and something that could be considered somewhere between these three categories. Just who lived here?

Well, he would find out later. For now he relaxed in the hot water. Just recently he had found a way to make his augments resistant to water. Washing had been a really annoying chore until now, so he really enjoyed being surrounded by the warmth of the bath. Now first of all he had to take over this workshop, then he could work again to reach the final stage of the glorious evolution!

That was _if_ he even could take over.

This was piltovian area. The league might have allowed him to stay, but if he bullied out whoever was working here... this could lead to complications. First he had to build up his own lab again. That had the highest priority. Maybe he could convince the one living here to joining his goal? That would be the best-case scenario - but for that he had to find out who lived there.

Determined he stood up and wrapped a towel around his waist. He would just wash his face in the sink and then he would recruit whoever was sleeping outside. Just as he thought that the door to the bathroom opened and the resident of the apartment entered the room. Viktor's eyes widened in shock. Out of all people Jayce was standing in the door, staring at the almost naked man in his bathroom.

After some moments of awkward silence Viktor realized that someone had just seen him without his mask - and that he was basically naked. His mechanical third arm moved up instantly and shot a devastating death-ray at the still rather sleepy Defender of Tomorrow. In the last second the man dodged.

"_VIKTOR?", _he asked rather confused. First of all was he confused that the Machine Herald was even here. But he had barely recognized him without the mask and his usual heavy clothes.

He dashed back into his lab and grabbed his Mercury Hammer. Just a short time later Viktor blasted the bathroom door open. He had put on all his clothing and exterior augments in a rush and hid his face beneath the high collar of his lab-coat. But Jayce could still see the deep blue eyes staring at him.

Just before either of them could make a move, a holographic projection appeared in the air between them. It showed Heimerdinger and Singed.

"Drop it, both of you!", growled the chemist, "Or I come up and..."

Heimerdinger interrupted him: "It's good to see you both awake. You two are expected in my workshop in sixty minutes! Jayce, he is your co-worker now, so I expect you treat him respectfully! I will not allow fighting in this institution!"

"The same goes for you!", spoke Singed to the Machine Herald, "So take down THAT GODDAM LASER!"

Out of habit Viktor had aimed at Singed. He mumbled something and the third arm vanished behind his back.

"We both expect you downstairs in one hour. End of transmission."

The image vanished, leaving two confused scientists behind. Both of them only though one thing: _How in the world am I supposed to work with this guy?_

In silence Viktor just moved his equipment towards an unused part of the giant room and started unpacking. He had no intention for recruiting his roommate anymore... That would be impossible now. Jayce vanished in the bath while he tested his new equipment while repairing his mask. The fact that someone had seen without it made him feel rather uncomfortable. And it had to be Jayce out of all people... Maybe he should just tech him up while he was asleep? In his mind an experimental project _Full Metal Jayce _appeared, but he shoved it aside for now. He could not complete his greater projects – the equipment necessary for that had been destroyed once more by that moron of an inventor. But there a lot smaller things that needed his attention.

He still had about 45 minutes until Singed expected him. During that time he used whatever he could find in Jayce's lab to create a charging - and maintenance-station for his augments. He could always check them with his mind, but sometimes it was better to take a look from outside to find the flaws he had to improve. Viktor was so absorbed in his work that he did not realize that Jayce had started to watch him. He startled Viktor by putting a part of his supplies next to him.

Jayce was not on friendly terms with the Machine Herald, but he was impressed by the display of skill the scientist showed. Also he wanted to find out what Viktor could do with some "real" materials, not just with some scrap he found. Usually he hated the Machine Herald and his view of the world, but it was fascinating to watch him work – at least when he worked some something comparable "normal".

"Don't meddle with my work, fleshling", mumbled Viktor, still immersed in his work.

"Well, if you want to fry your brain then... I would not use second-hand redglow-wire for a neural connection..."

"Pha, what do YOU know about mechanical biology?", sneered Viktor, but he had to admit that the inventor was right. He allowed Jayce to get a better look of his work.

"Wait, why is there no overload-safety?"

"I don't need one."

"But with these materials..."

"My creations do not overload!", growled Viktor, who in silence had to admit that Jayce was right again. Usually he would not care about needless safety-mechanisms like this, but with these materials... Jayce might have saved his live this very moment, because _if_ this machine overloaded it would turn his brain into boiling soup. He would add a safety-mechanism later when Jayce was not looking.

After some time an holographic image of Singed appeared in the room. It was no transmission, but a recorded message: _"Come downstairs to the workshop. The yellow brain has work for us."_

Singed knew that without this message Viktor would have forgotten the time working on his projects.

Viktor followed Jayce out of the apartment while explaining the basics of his craft. In the beginning he did not even want to talk with Jayce, but then he did not stop asking questions about his craft and stated some of his own theories that were filled with holes and flaws. He just HAD to correct the inventor – not doing so would have deeply wounded his pride as a prodigy in the field of bio-mechanical augmentation.

Jayce's apartment was on the second floor of a rather futuristic building. Viktor immediately despised the style: too much white, too much light – and bright colors EVERYWHERE. "Destroy, then improve", he mumbled as he walked behind Jayce. In his mind he knew exactly how he would remodel this: black and gray as dominant colors with hints of crimson red. Also a lot of metal and cables running along the wall –_ that's_ how a real lab should look like.

The entrance of the building was a nightmare for Viktor: sunlight flooded the lobby, a room with gold as it dominant color and lots of glass. He really missed his old lab. Just a bit of a dangerous and brooding atmosphere... was that too much to ask for?

The workshop did fit his taste more. Lot's of dark wood, parts of machines lying everywhere – while it was not his preferred style of interior architecture, Viktor had to admit that the Revered Inventor had a good taste in that matter.

Singed already expected them "The yellow brain is out somewhere and you two are supposed to keep the store running", he explained, "No further questions. This order is absolute. Any kind of mess-up and you will face the consequences!" He gave both of them his usual death glare and walked away.

"Is he always like this?", Jayce asked Viktor, who just nodded.

They shared the work: Jayce would deal with the customers while Viktor would work in the back, working on the orders or bringing stuff from the storage. His third arm proved surprisingly useful in that matter. The first customers were nothing special: Only summoners who wanted to have some of their household appliances repaired. Viktor fixed most of them in less than several minutes. After some time Master Yi appeared and wanted to have his special goggles readjusted. Jayce took over that job and sent Viktor to the front to deal with the customers.

At first no one was coming – much to the scientist's delight -, but then a certain blonde boy appeared. Ezreal was slightly surprised by the masked man's presence, but he did state his order. Apparently he wanted a climbing gear that was capable of carrying archeological equipment. In his mind Viktor already had the perfect solution for the boy's problem: Mechanical legs should do the trick.

"I know what you need.", he stated as he vanished in the storage," Follow me."

Ezreal followed him, but as soon as he passed the door Viktor's mechanical hand grabbed him and slammed him on a table. Instantly the scientist created a high-gravity field to keep the boy in place. "Steel will fix all your flaws!", he explained as he collected various equipment from the operation. "Calm down, I will just replace some parts of your legs. It won't hurt at all."

That last part was a downright lie.

Meanwhile the boy was screaming in terror. Why do they always freak out? He was just trying to help them! He used his third hand to keep the boy's mouth shut and started taking measurements of the legs. Hmm maybe he should sedate the boy first...? Nah, unnecessary – an unneeded waste of time. He should be strong enough to deal with that little bit of pain. Viktor was just about to make the first cut when a strong hand pulled him back.

"Just what do you think you are doing?", asked a rather angry Jayce

"Doing my job", answered Viktor grim, "Climbing gear for the transport of special equipment. Mechanical legs are the best solution in that matter!"

"You can't just mechanize random people!"

Viktor was actually surprised. They did not allow this kind of philanthropy in Piltover? What a heartless nation! Back in Zaun body-modifications were not that rare at all, but they were expensive in most cases.

"I'm just helping him, so just let me do my job!", he said as he shook of Jayce's hand, "Do you have any idea how much this operation would cost in Zaun? I'm even doing this for free here!"

Jayce internally facepalmed. He wondered if Viktor was really serious or was just acting to make him mad. It should be obvious that people did not like to get cut up and have weird hextech-augments stuffed into them.

"I'm afraid I'll have to confiscate your personal equipment for now."

"YOU WOULD NOT DARE!", growled Viktor behind his mask, "Don't even _think _about touching my equipment!" Usually he would have pierced Jayce with a laser for that sentence, but then Singed and Heimerdinger would throw him out and then he would still have no lab to work in. Slightly displeased Viktor released Ezreal from the table. Instantly the boy escaped from the workshop. _What a fool, _thought the Machine Herald, _He just missed the opportunity of his life!_

"No biological modifications!", ordered Jayce, much to his disappointment.

"And what about external augments?"

"No body-modification in this workshop!", said Jayce in a really serious tone. Viktor knew that he could not convince the inventor. That moron had just no idea about his technology. Maybe he should modify him next night while he was asleep...

"And if they order it?"

"Well then it's not problem, but..."

Viktor did not listen to him and tried to talk every customer into ordering one of his augments. Sadly most of them were not interested at all. And if someone was interested Jayce butted in and sent them of with one of his inventions. What a waste of potential! Why should you give someone an oversized shotgun when you could just implant the weapon inside the body while also adding a neural aiming interface?

The last person that entered to the shop was the Sheriff of Piltover, but when he tried to sell Caitlyn an eye implant that should guarantee perfect aiming for sniping, she almost arrested him.

He had to be saved by Jayce, who tried his best to stop the cop from calling reinforcements. To prevent things from going worse he just left the workshop and walked back up to his new laboratory. The people had not changed much since he had left his lab the last time: still they feared every technology that required the removal of some inefficient biological waste. Just why did they cling to their weak bodies so much? Did they not understand that he could improve them all if they would just let him? Did he not show of the superiority of his craft regularly on the Summoner's Rift?

Arrogant fools! Once the glorious evolution was complete they would all have to admit that he was right – or he would simply destroy them all to prove the power of his technology!

He grabbed whatever he could find in the small kitchen in Jayce's apartment and continued with his project. The Defenders's fridge was almost empty. Well, looked like he would feed of electricity for the next time. Viktor had already taken on the human weakness of requiring food. He would still need some certain nutrients every several weeks, but he could live of the powerful energy for months without showing any sings of inefficiency.

When he was finished he grabbed a chair and sat down inside his invention, strapping the last electrodes to his skull. Finally he pulled a needlessly large lever to power it up. Viktor leaned back while the machine merged with his mind. Now he would spend the next hours with charging and maintaining his body. He could feel how his mind expanded as the flow of electricity poured through his augments and implants. The starting process worked smoother than he had expected. Maybe he could try to use more power for the next stage...

In his anger about "those weak fleshlings" he had totally forgotten to add the overload safety. After a short time all lights in the building started to flicker while enormous static electricity built up in the air. One could see Jayce running up to his rooms, followed by the sound of an explosion short after. Just what had happened up there?

* * *

**/**** Aaaand cliffhanger. Next chapter will come soon, stay tuned ;) Also deleted scene: Viktor trying to sell his tech, looking like a shady drug dealer: "Hey kid, wanna buy some glorious evolution?" This was too stupid to actually add it, but i wanted to share the idea with you guys. **


	3. Chapter Three: Medical Science

**Chapter Three: Medical Science**

Jayce was the first one to enter the room. He found Viktor sitting inside his invention, screaming as sparks and lightening erupted from his body. The mask had fallen down, revealing the tormented face of the Machine Herald. Jayce's first impulse was to shut the machine down. But as soon as he cut the power, the machine reacted different than expected: instead of shutting down it seemed to drain the energy inside Viktor's body now. A strong hand grabbed Jayce from behind and pulled him down. Singed pulled up his blast shield in time to block the disastrous explosion that followed after. The mad chemist had enough experience with explosions to know that Viktor might be still alive. He pulled a transmission orb out of his outfit. The orb was green with a red "Z" engraved to it.

"How far are you from the outer mansion? Ah, yes. Rush over and tell the doctor to prepare for operating. We follow short after.", Singed put the magical artifact down and started giving orders: "Warwick, remove every kind of exterior augment and _YOU",_ he looked at Jayce, "Tell me exactly what you know about this machine."

The werewolf was surprisingly skilled at removing the outer parts of Viktor's mechanized body. One might forget this, but the wolf was a scientist. Singed's old teacher to be exact. Jayce had barely started explaining when the wolfman dragged the body towards Singed. One could not tell if the man was still alive.

"We'll talk while running!", ordered the chemist as he threw the unconscious Viktor over his shoulder. After drinking one of his potions he also grabbed the protesting Jayce and threw him over his other shoulder. Then he started to run at terrifying speed. Warwick followed them on all fours.

Despite his looks Singed might be one of the strongest humanoid champions in the league: He could run easily on the Summoner's Rift even with his heavy equipment. Without his gas-tank and the big shield he was even faster, so carrying two grown men did not hinder him at all. The mansion he was running to was usually a ten to fifteen minute walk away, but with Singed's speed they would reach the mansion in less than five minutes.

Jayce was rather confused: "Where are you running to? We have medical staff here..."

"We have a specialist", answered the chemist, "I don't think that your medics have any idea how to deal with this."

"Specialist? You can't mean that brute of a..."

"He's the best we have, so you better learn to respect him... whatever, just don't get in the way."

The mansion came in sight. Jayce knew that several champions lived here since the east-building collapsed, but he did not know who. From what he had heard the building was not separated by nations or allegiances. A certain big green monster already expected them and held open the door. "Dining room, second on the right!", said Zac as they passed him. Singed did not even bother opening the second door and waltzed right through it. Dr. Mundo already expected them.

The purple giant had taken on something that looked like a really torn up working attire. Marks of blood, fire and claws were all over the white clothing. He picked the Machine Herald from the chemists shoulders and laid him down on the table. After performing some checks he exclaimed: "Mundo says he still alive!"

In relief Singed just dropped Jayce on the floor and asked the giant: "Can you fix him?"

"Again? Mundo think that this will be more tricky than last time. But Mundo already has great idea... but his will be little... _experiment_."

"Yeah yeah, whatever." Singed did not really care what happened to Viktor as long as he stayed alive. Also if the doctor experimented... this could be interesting. The chemist realized that another person was in the room: Vladimir, the Crimson Reaper. With a slightly bored expression he sat in one corner, feeding the Poro on his head pieces of blood. Strangely the Poro wore a miniature version of his red coat. Singed had heard the rumors of the hemomancer teaching one of the most forbidden and dangerous magics to a Poro, but he had though of all this as a bad joke.

"Ah, don't mind him, he is Mundo's medical assistant", said Mundo. Vladimir stood up and moved towards the table, looking at the Machine Herald with a mix of disgust and fascination. While the bloodmage stared at the scientist, Dr. Mundo explained his plan: "Mundo has new formula for strong regeneration but for that all machine parts need to be removed from the body. Might kill him though... well, then Mundo has ANOTHER new formula for revival. And his this kills him too... well, we still have necromancy. And if that fails... Mundo think about that when needed."

Jayce could not believe the doctor's words. In all his years as a scientist he had never seen any of his colleagues operating like that!

"Are you using a highly experimental method on a dying patient?", he said, "This is not safe! You might kill him with that!"

"Pff, _safe science_", as Singed said these words everyone in this room let out an evil snicker. Apart from Vladimir, who was still scanning Viktor's blood, everyone stared at Jayce.

"This is why Piltover will never surpass Zaun", sneered the chemist, "Safety does not give results! It does not give data! That guy here is dying anyway, so it doesn't matter if the method is safe as long as it works. Move it, we start the operation now!"

Jayce tried to protest but Mundo just shoved him away. From here on the doctor was in command:  
"Mundo say remove all metal that is not connected with brain. Assistant keep him alive! Singed, Warwick, hold him in place!" Vladimir just nodded and used his magic on Viktor.

In terror Jayce had to watch has Mundo pulled up his cleaver and rammed it right into the patients legs. The one leg was fully mechanical, so it only caused sparks to flow around. The other leg was not mechanized as the first, so Jayce could hear bones breaking as the cleaver separated the flesh. "Ooops, meh, Mundo will grow him a new one later.", was the doctor's only comment.

Strangely almost no blood came from the wounds – Vladimir tried his best to keep the blood loss under control.

Mundo repeated the process with the scientist's right arm and left hand. He did not dare to touch the third arm on Viktor's back because it was directly connected with his spine and his nervous system. Then the doctor ripped up his clothing. Most parts of his abdomen and chest had been replaced by parts of black metal that stood in contrast to his white skin. The doctor pulled out a syringe and shot an unidentified purple liquid into Viktor's body. Almost immediately it showed effect: the man seemed to wake up. He screamed in pain and tried to stand up, but Warwick and Singed immediately restrained him.

Mundo had to give him his formula now, or he would kill him when he removed the internal modifications. He used his cleaver to cut open the scientist. This was a race against time now: he had to remove all the unnatural parts inside the body before the real regeneration process kicked in. With inhuman strenght Mundo forced the already healing wound open and used his giant hands to rip out everything that seemed not to belong there. There was not much time, so he caused quite a lot of collateral damage: Blood, flesh, metal and organ parts dropped on the floor as the stench of the opened body spread inside the room. Vladimir looked really concentrated, as if even he had trouble preserving the Viktor's live now.

Mundo made another cut on the mans chest and continued his disgusting work. It looked like a monster that ripped random parts out of it's prey. After something that felt like an eternity he pulled out his hands of the patient's body. He had made it barely in time, because the mans wounds started to heal at an amazing speed.

He just took a second to rip out all the metal that formed the patients jaw line, tearing out all implants that had been in his face during the process. All this was too disgusting for Jayce to watch, but a morbid fascination forced him to continue looking at the sight of Dr. Mundo operating. Judging from the way the giant moved it was not the first time he worked like this.

Warwick restrained the patient, who moved around in wild frenzy, while Singed collected the metal parts on the floor. He would analyze them later on. This was the perfect chance to get some insight on the chemical processes that Viktor had used.

Everyone leaned back and watched as the patient's limbs grew back. It seemed like the important part of the operation was over. "Wait.", said the purple giant suddenly, "Mundo is missing his watch..."

They all took some time to realize that this was the doctor's attempt to make a joke.

"**AAAAAAARGH!"**

An inhuman scream turned their attention back to Viktor. His body had healed up, but now it looked like he was burning from the inside: His skin had turned red while steam erupted from it. The regeneration process was completed, but the formula was too strong for Viktor's body. His organism was about to self-destruct from an overload of energy.

Mundo pulled out various syringes and rammed them all into the patient's body, but none of them seemed to work.

"It would be easier to just kill him and revive him short after...", growled Singed who had to help Warwick with holding down Viktor. The substance Mundo had given him made him a lot stronger – too strong for the werewolf alone. Everyone stared at Singed.

"Mundo think this might work..."

He gave Vladimir a certain order.

Only a second later Viktor's heart stopped beating.

His furious movement ceased and he dropped down to the table like a lifeless puppet. Everyone looked at the doctor, waiting for the next step. The purple giant seemed to count the seconds that passed. Suddenly he rose his hand and slammed it on Viktor's chest. Combined with Vladimir's hemomancy he managed to set the heart beating again, but this time there was no strange side effects from the strange substances he had pumped inside the patients body. Viktor looked so peaceful now, just as if he was sleeping. Mundo picked him up with ease and gave him to Warwick. First he wanted to give him to Singed, but the chemist was busy separating the metal parts he collected from certain biological attachments.

And Jayce looked like he was in no condition to carry someone. The inventor was pale as he stumbled out of the room. The impressions of the operation were more than he could take. He had seen a man getting cut into pieces, getting eviscerated and killed, just to see him getting revived again. Suddenly he felt really dizzy. He must have started hallucinating, because suddenly Pantheon stood in front of him, wearing a pink apron. "_LOVE THE BAKER_" was written on it. He did not know that the warrior resided in this mansion, so he ignored the disturbing image and stumbled towards the exit.

Before he hit the floor he was stopped by a strange green substance. Zac picked him up, not sure what he was supposed to do with the now mostly unconscious Jayce. He just waited until Singed and Warwick left the building and dropped the Defender of Tomorrow on Singed's shoulder. The chemist did not even notice while he was busy talking with Warwick about some chemical stuff. Zac used this chance to bounce away. He did not like working with the scientists, but this time had been a emergency.

Well, whatever.

The another life was saved and his work was done here. He moved towards the institute with the intention of picking Riven up, who had a match on the Summoner's Rift currently. There was something he had to ask her...

"Hmm, I should get a suit..."

* * *

Viktor felt really strange as he woke up. He remembered that the machine overloaded and exploded, but nothing after that. Also his body felt kind of... unusual. So light. Really strange.

He requested a damage report from his cybernetic brain augment, but there was no response. Only after several attempts he received an answer:

_dfspribhixbhrortg5cxg64rtgh4trhgrstg4xwgg84dfxthtz8h_

_Files Corrupted – System Damaged_

_Restoring Files, please stand by._

Wow. That overload must have been stronger than estimated if it could damage his machine-brain. With his eyes still closed he waited for the restoring program to finish its work.

_System operational again. Performing scan:_

_Location: Bed. Somewhere._

_Time: Night. Maybe._

_Status of all systems: no response_

No response? But that was impossible! He could still feel his body, his nervous system was intact, so his brain should be able to access his body. Also his localization and time systems must have taken a major hit. Slightly annoyed he switched the cyberbrain into manual mode and performed the scan himself. But the answers did confuse him:

_Error 404, augment not found._

_Error 404, implant not found._

_Error 404, secondary systems not found._

More and more error reports came in, but suddenly the operational system of the mechanical brain broke down again. The last he could see with his mind was a blue wall written full of white text that made no sense at all.

Even when he concentrated he could not feel the machinery that resided in his body.

Apart from that his body felt really weird... his third hand itched annoyingly and... wait. It itched?

Viktor's eyes shot up. He was back in Jayce's apartment. The light was on, but there was no one else in the room. From the window he could only see the dark night sky. Viktor moved his third arm in front of his face to inspect it. It was still made of metal, no doubt. But strange veins spread through it like blood vessels. When he touched it he could feel his pulse running through the no longer artificial arm. Also he could feel his own touch on the metal.

Just what in the world had happened to him?

He tried to stand up, but he had difficulties with moving his body. Every movement felt heavy, as if he performed it for the first time in his live. Something was definitely not right here. Viktor pulled up his clothing, but where he expected augments and machinery, there was just weak flesh.

Panic surged in his mind. The fact that he was even able to experience panic worried him even more. Usually he had augments that controlled his output of hormones and limited these unnecessary things called "emotions", but even these implants seemed to be missing now.

He was not used to his own emotions, so fear overwhelmed him. Terrified Viktor cowered in one corner of the bed, shivering uncontrollably. Panic consumed all his reason. He did barely notice that someone had entered the room. As Jayce approached him, he tried to move away and keep a distance. He tried to speak, but even his voice felt unfamiliar to use without the machinery of his body.

Only a whisper escaped from his mouth: _"What have you done to me?"_


	4. Chapter Four: Surprising Science

**Chapter Four: Surprising Science**

Jayce had honestly no idea how to deal with this situation. His former nemesis had regained his humanity just a short time ago – and he could definitely not deal with it. It was common knowledge that Viktor despised everything biological as "flawed" and "weak". His new body must be his own personal nightmare.

The no-longer-machine herald sat distanced from him on the bed, obviously having a mental breakdown. Jayce had seen old pictures of Viktor when he was still human – in scientific magazines or newspapers. He looked almost exactly like back then. But that was impossible! He knew that Viktor was actually older than he was, yet the man on the bed looked like in the years old pictures. The doctor had not only healed his body – he had rejuvenated him! Jayce was the biological older one now... a rather strange feeling when natural constants like this were bent by the power of science.

Now he had to calm down Viktor somehow or he would go really insane. Jayce knew what scientists were capable of if they really had a screw loose. Also this was a once in a lifetime chance to stop Viktor's glorious evolution. Maybe – just maybe – he could convince him to accept his new-found humanity.

But Jayce had no idea how the human psyche worked. Sure, he was known for seducing women back in Piltover, but that was just something he was naturally good at. Maybe if he thought as Viktor as a generic damsel in distress... no that was not going to work. Then the inventor remembered something else: Back at school he had read a book about animal psychology. Just what was the most important thing back then? Ah, yes... food. No, that was no good idea either... That would maybe work with Vi, but not with Viktor.

Running out of ideas the inventor decided to improvise: he approached Viktor with fast steps and grabbed him at his shoulders while looking into the panic-filled eyes. Instinctively the man tried to get away from him, but he was too weak to escape the inventor's grip.

"Calm down!", Jayce ordered in a warm tone, still looking inside the eyes that were focused on something beyond this world. Jayce waited patiently until the shaking stopped and reason returned into the eyes of the scientist. Viktor had stopped resisting the touch and simply collapsed into Jayce's arms like a bag of potatoes.

After an awkwardly long moment of silence Jayce could hear a whisper: "You have turned me weak! Powerless! You have taken everything from me... again. Just how long do I have to suffer for your greed?"

It seemed like Viktor put him together with the ones who stole his work before he mechanized himself. For Jayce the scientist's story was a really sad one. He had been a prodigy - a genius even. The first one who created a sentient life form out of a steam-golem. The first one whose research made a revival of the dead possible without using necromancy as main process. Yet he did never see anything for his hard work. The opposite happened: his cries for justice were ignored as he was labeled an outcast in the academic society of Zaun . After that he vanished in his laboratory, turning into the Machine Herald everyone feared, leading his glorious evolution.

That was when Jayce had met Viktor for the first time: He was to study a high energy level crystal for the academy in Piltover when the machine-man appeared and demanded to use the powerful object for his own goals. As Jayce denied him this request, the Machine Herald took the crystal by force, completely destroying his workshop during the process. Everyone knew what happened after: Jayce grabbed his Mercury Hammer and went on a rambo-like rampage in Zaun, totally wrecking Viktor's facilities and the crystal. From that moment on their childish feud started. Viktor used him to test the power of his latest creations by "accidentally" dropping them in Piltover, while Jayce did the one or the other devastating raid on the Viktor's laboratories to pay him back and to hinder any more of his creations running wild in the streets of his hometown.

But the man in front of him was nothing like the man who entered his laboratory a long time ago. Back then it had been hate on the first sight, but now... Jayce could only pity him right now. Viktor started to mumble something that Jayce could not understand... only when he looked at his face he realized that he looked feverish. Maybe an after-effect of the operation? Immediately he put the man back to bed. Strangely Viktor did not put up any resistance. He just mumbled something, probably hallucinating.

Never had Jayce expected that one day he would be worried about the Machine Herald.

_Sigh, what a troublesome roommate I got here..._

* * *

The roaring sound of an explosion woke Viktor from his sleep.

The fever had gone down, so he was able to think more clearly. The sound was rather... familiar - maybe just Singed testing some of his latest mixtures. Yeah, that had to be it. Right now he was sleeping in his lab and everything went how it was supposed to be. Maybe he should go back to sleep, since this was nothing out of the ordinary... there were just two things that crushed this illusion of his: the fact that other strange explosions that sounded totally different had appeared and the fact that his third hand felt like it was asleep.

The panic came back, but this time he managed to keep his emotions in check. From his cybernetic brain came no response but a silent static noise. He had to find a way to repair it soon... Viktor opened his eyes. Small rays of sunlight shined through the curtains. Next to him was Jayce sleeping on a chair next to the bed. Had the inventor watched over him all night? Probably not. Viktor guessed that the inventor had worked until late at night and then was too tired to actually stand up and go to bed. The need for sleep was one of the first things that Viktor had taken on with his technology. Less sleep meant more work - and that meant more progress.

Just how was he supposed to operate with his body like this? His first impulse was to just upgrade himself again. This was the perfect chance to improve some of the outdated technology he had used as a foundation for his old body. But he had no idea how this new body of his worked. There was only one doctor that could rid him of all his technology while keeping him alive. He had no idea what Mundo had used on him, but there were surely certain side effects that still lingered inside his body. Also there was the problem with his third arm. Could he be even sure that his body operated still in the way it used too?

He would need to run a full check on his organism, but the equipment for a process like that... he would have to order certain materials from Zaun, but this would take a lot of time, since those stupid bureaucrats were a perfect example for living incompetence.

Moving felt a bit easier now, so the man grabbed his lab coat. It looked like someone had washed the cloth, but there were still traces of blood... among other stuff. But Viktor did not really care. He also stole some of Jayce's clothes and walked out of the apartment, looking for the thing that disturbed his sleep: the strange explosions. Lacking his usual mask he just used the high collar of his coat to mask the lower part of his face.

As he went down the stairs the explosions grew louder and louder.

The lobby had been turned into a battlefield. On one side he could see Ziggs and Rumble, on the other were Singed and Warwick. Both duos had erected barricades and threw chemicals, bombs and all kinds of ballistic projectiles at the other. Apparently each team was to hit some marked target behind the barricades. Just why would Singed take part in a childish event like this?

Viktor saw the look on Singed's face as he mixed some chemicals together and threw the highly unstable mixture at the Yordle's barricades. Ah yes. Live experimentation. That had to be it.

"AND NOW THE BIG ONE!", screamed the crazy Yordle as he packed one giant bomb to a machine that looked somehow like Rumble's mech, but smaller. "_YORDLE TECH ATILLERY OF DOOM!" _The machine shot the needlessly large projectile into the air.

Singed was totally unimpressed. "_Special chemist barrier!", _he just answered and flung Warwick into the air – right into the incoming bomb.

_**BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**_

Having a nearly immortal werewolf by ones side was surely useful in some situations, but not even Viktor was sure if the cursed man could actually survive something of a scale like this. When the dust had settled they stood around the burned, yet surprisingly alive remains of Warwick.

"Maybe we should blow him up again?", asked Ziggs, who still had to learn that not every problem could be solved with explosions. The werewolf regenerated at an terrifying speed, slowly starting to move towards Ziggs. Apparently he had heard the yordle and was definitely not pleased with that idea. The wolfman's claws extended as they grew back, only centimeters from the yordle he was stopped by a rather surprising event.

"_**INCOMING!"**_

From the entrance of the building a giant green blob came crushing down on Warwick. Viktor was surprised. What was the living weapon doing here? Usually the green giant avoided them, unless Singed called him in and even then there was the chance that he would simply not care. The green goo took back the form of a muscular, yet somehow strange-looking man.

"I'm getting married!", he exclaimed to the scientists. Everyone, even Ziggs and Rumble, froze in shock.

"TO THE PANIC ROOM!", yelled Singed who was the first one to break the silence.

"We don't actually have one...", answered Rumble

Singed just grabbed some of his chemicals and blew a hole into the next wall, opening an entrance to the conference room of the building. On another note: he could have also used the door four meters away.

"TO THE (NEW) PANIC ROOM!", he declared as he walked into the room, dragging Warwick behind him on the floor. Viktor, Zac and the yordles followed him. As everyone took a seat Singed ordered Zac to tell them the whole story.

Yesterday, after the chaotic operation of Dr. Mundo, he had fetched Riven from the main building of the institute. The two had known each other for a long time by now. Also they were really similar: peaceful by nature, but outcasts in their societies. They had known each other for over a year when Zac had the idea of proposing.

Now they needed someone to organize and hold the event... the problem was just that both of them were totally broke. Noxus had taken in all her belongings when she defected and Zac did not really bother much about material things in the first place, but he had promised her that he would find a way to make this "the most awesome wedding that had ever happened in Valoran".

"... also we need someone to take care of possible noxian assassins.", concluded Zac his report. No one was surprised at the last part. A good noxian wedding had at least three attempts of murder or it was not considered a real wedding. Apart from that there was still the possibility of poisoned food or drinks or the classical murder-in-the-giant-cake-trick. "And who the hell are you?"

Viktor had to wave with his third hand so Zac could recognize him. He really needed a new mask...

"Didn't you ask the summoners for financial support?" asked Singed after hearing the explanation.

"Yeah, but they wouldn't give me anything...", answered Zac, "They said providing the rooms was already enough..."

The mad chemist thought about all this. First, this was a great way to bind Zac closer to them and second: this was the perfect chance for some publicity. A wedding of league champions was basically equal to a wedding of royalty – including media coverage and all that other stuff. This was the perfect opportunity to gather some funds for their next projects...

Viktor on the other hand was completely confused by the situation. But his problem was something else: he had some trouble understanding the sense or purpose of marriage. One should not expect an understanding of love from someone who had sealed his emotions for the last years. Also he had always been single in his life, his only love being work and science. He could not even imagine the feeling of affection towards an inefficient biological construct.

Singed agreed on helping Zac and they all headed out to speak with the summoners again. Maybe they were willing to pay more if a bloodthirsty werewolf was sitting in front of them – a business strategy that had never failed Singed and Warwick so far.

They all forgot just one tiny detail: Singed had been the one who had murdered all of Riven's soldiers back in the Noxian-Ionian War in a barrage of chemical mass-destruction. Although Viktor had the feeling that they had forgotten something really important for this matter he followed the group. Apparently mad scientists don't have the time to watch for insignificant details like this.

Somewhere at the institute Riven felt a cold shiver running down her spine.


End file.
